That Heavenly Hug

Walking up the path, gravel crunches under my feet, flooding out the sounds of the natural setting surrounding me. Looking around I don’t know where I am. I haven’t been here before.

The late afternoon sun bursts through the clouds, as if the heavens have opened up, just in time to welcome me. The air is fresh but its neither hot nor cold. I can’t feel any temperature. Nothing.

As I look through the trees, I can see mountains in the distance. Green and lush. They seem to be below me. There is a sense of solitude, of contentment, of peace. I stand in the middle of the path, turning a full 360 degrees, trying to get a sense of where I am, but I have no idea. Am I in heaven? Is this a dream?

As I continue to climb the path, the ridge line of a roof appears. As I get closer it reveals more of itself. It is a home. An incomplete one. There are no walls, just a skeleton. Filled by 180 degree views, overlooking the ranges below.

The wooden structure is clean and the ground is solid. No dust. It’s quiet now.

As I enter the structure, sun rays shine through, spurring off into different directions, blinding me, making it hard to see. My hands guard my eyes from the bright rays. As I move forward a few steps more the sun subsides. I move my hands away and there he is. There is Dad.

He is standing there, looking back at me with his Jack Thompson smile. I walk up to him in disbelief.

His hands hold my face as he stares into my soul. As if I were a child, he hugs me with all his might, sweeping me off my feet. My head rests into his shoulder not wanting to leave this safe embrace. The embrace of father and son, that I had so missed since the day he left the mortal world. I found him, this is his home, this is his heaven.

With one hand on his hip and another holding the back of my neck, he guides me outside. Standing in silence, we overlook the valleys below.

The sun starts to subsides for the imminent night. As the sun leaves, the house dissolves away, and as the house dissolves, he walks away into the shadows.

I turn back to the view of the valley which was now a view of my translucent drapes, blowing in the wind with the morning sun shining through. Waking me from my sleepy state.